LOS ANGELES -- Volvo Cars has entered the electric vehicle market with a safe choice: a crossover.
The XC40 Recharge, unveiled here Wednesday, is a modified version of Volvo's XC40 compact crossover. In place of the the four-cylinder engine it has a 78-kilowatt-hour battery.
The dual-motor XC40 Recharge is expected to arrive at dealers in Europe and the U.S. in the second half of next year. The EV delivers up to 408 hp and 660 newton meters of torque. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds. It has a range of more than 400 km ( 248 miles) under WLTP testing rules, Volvo said.
The battery charges to 80 percent of its capacity in 40 minutes on a fast-charger system.
The XC40 EV is the vanguard of a series of emissions-free models from Volvo, which wants full-electric vehicles to account for half of its global sales by 2025 with the rest hybrids. Over the next five years, Volvo said, it will launch one full-electric vehicle every year.
"We have said this several times before: For Volvo Cars, the future is electric," CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement.
Volvo said Recharge will be the name of its subbrand of full-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Plug-in hybrids are expected to make up 20 percent of Volvo's sales next year.
The automaker expects to triple production capacity of its electrified cars.